Western appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1885-18??, 1887-08-13
|OOUNTBY LIFE AND WORK
THn LITTLE HIGHwAYMAN.

COUNTRY LIFE AND WORK.
THE LITTLE HIaHwAYMAN.
Did yeu ever meet robber, with pistol and !
knife,
Whose pronp. and cordial 4: greeting was, 'Your
Who while you stood a-trembling, with your
hands above yonr head,
Took your gold, most grimly offering to repay
you In cold lead?
Wen, once met robber: was going home to
tea;
The way was rather lonely, though not yet too
dark to see
That the sturdy rogue who stopped me there
was very fnlly armed
But I'm honest In maintaining that didn't feel
alarmed.
he was painting hard from running, 30 !, being
still undaunted.
Very boldly faced the rascal and demanded
what he wanted;
was quiet ~ big Is he was, and i was not out
Of breath,
So didn't fear his shooting me, or stabbing me
to death.
an answer to my question the highwayman
raised an arm
And pointed 1t straight at me-thou gh I still
felt no alarm;
IL ulV uOt ASK ICI money Dub HQ6C ne 6610 WAS
this:
"You cannot pass, Papa, unless you give your
boy kissp'
ALLAN G. B1eE Low in St. Nicholas.
HARvEs TING POTATOES.
The New England Farmer advisesfarm
ers not to leave potatoes in the ground
long after they are ready to harvest.
1t is cold work handling potatoes after
the ground begins to freeze nights. The
cold and the dirt often make the hands
crack and become very sore. Besides,
late digging gives the weeds and grass
chance to grow, and makes the work
of digging still harder. Some think
the late fall rains injure the quality
of the tubers for eating. However
this may be, there is nothing gained
by, leaving sound potatoes long in the
ground after they are ripe and ready
to dig. When the crop is rotting, how
ever, it is we'll to leave them undug
till the disease is far enough advanced
so that the unsound can be separated
from the sound ones without difficulty.
Dig in fair weather SO that the tubers
will come out clean. Potatoes dug
when the ground is muddy never look
well in the bin, nor are they as salable
in market. If the white grub is very
abundant in the soil, it may be neces-
sary to dig to save the crop, even before
the vines are dead.
If potatoes arc dug by hand, it is
easier to lift them while the vines are
istill alive Plunging spading fork
into one side of the hill and prying
with one hand while the vines are grasp
ed by the other, the tubers may be lift
ed almost at g single operation and
shaken upon the surface to dry for an
hour or SO, before picking and sort
ing. Some farmers make much I'M
necessary work in harvesting this crop.
They pull the vines, then dig out the
potatoes with hoes or hooks, throwing
them into baskets which are emptied
into a cart or wagon, from which
they arc afterwards sorted before put
ting into the cellar. It is better to
sort when picking from the field. and
fork is far better than hoe for lift
ing and spreading out the tubers to
dry.
When one has large field that is fair
~ free from rocks and weeds, the dig
ging can be done very rapidly by the
use of a small, double-winged plough,
drawn by a horse, letting the horse,
walk on the row, or better, have two
horses astride the row. Unless there
are pickers enough keep up the team,
which is impracticable,t the team should
go through the field taking alternate
rows, and after these are
cleaned up, go through again, tax
ing the remaining rows. Farmers
must economic in every way possible
to save labor in producing their crops,
or they will have reason to complain
of "hard times. When the potatoes
are put in the cellar, see that they are
covered from the light, which will turn
the skin green and make the potato Bit
ter and practically worthless, except
for planting. One thickness of news
paper, if nothing better can be had, will
shut out the light and keep the tubers
SOuuu. SGOE0 Ill GuS COOlcSG DdTG OF the
cellar where there will be no danger
from freezing. A warm cellar starts
the sprouts too early in the spring.
FORAGE CROPS FOR MILK.
From results of experiments obtained
1t the Model Dairy Farm of Aliens
bourg, in Hungary, Indian corn pro-
NOTED the largest yield of milk, while
sorghum produced that of the richest
quality. The other crops experimental
were beet root, lucern and sanfoin.
The former gave the smallest yield
per day of milk, but the percentage of
solids in it was very high. The per-
centage of sugar in the milk obtained
by feeding beet root was higher than
that produced by any of the other
foods. These experiments differ some
what in their results from those made
in our own country. For example,
Indian corn or meal is found To Dro-